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EQ3 and 5468796 Architecture are participating in the Toronto Design Offsite Festival with Tapped / Untapped, an installation by 5468796 Architecture to be presented in EQ3’s King Street East showroom.

Taking their shared Winnipeg roots as a basis for the installation, 5468796 and EQ3 aimed to create a project that conveys the “prairie mentality” — one based on innovation, resourcefulness and resiliency — with the Toronto public. According to 5468796, “Winnipeg creatives are challenged to question the potential in their own backyard and make something out of nothing. Without outside influence, Winnipeg has cultivated a strong, distinct identity that has become recognized and celebrated locally and internationally.”

Photo by Bob Gundu

Tapped / Untapped uses two conventional, off-the-shelf materials as well as an innovative connection detail that enables the materials to be returned to the production cycle unscathed. Twenty 20-foot columns extend to the ceiling, supporting cantilevered, mirrored aluminum panels. These simple gestures create an “urban forest” that dramatically alters perceptions of space, reflecting the surrounding context, people, and products.

According to 5468796, “We wanted to be both resourceful and purposeful, while taking note of our architectural surroundings to prompt conversation. Ecology was also important to our design ethos, in allowing for all materials to be recycled and reused, neutralizing the material footprint of the installation, as if it never happened.”

Tapped/Untapped will be on view during the Toronto Design Offsite Festival, January 17-22, 2017, at EQ3, 222 King Street East, Toronto ON, M5A 1J7. Admission is free.